Commemorating the War Heroes

When I think of the Korean War, I picture MASH, with Hawkeye and Trapper cracking jokes while performing surgery under flickering lights and extreme conditions. Even as a comedy, the show portrayed the horrors of that conflict.

I generally think of war as a primitive construct which intelligent humans should have progressed beyond at this point. But looking around modern South Korea, you realize what a difference that war made to people’s lives today. 🤔

When North Korea invaded in 1950, it was an existential threat to their southern neighbor. Backed by Russia and China, the north was able to overrun most of South Korea. 🪖 Eventually US and UN forces helped the south to reverse the tide of war, leading to the current situation with the two Korean countries existing side by side, separated by a 4 km wide demilitarized zone.

Modern South Korea is a thriving, prosperous country, home to high-tech companies like Samsung and Hyundai. Shiny new cars fill the streets of Seoul and the city gives off an air of sophisticated well-being. 😊

North Korea? Not so much. And realizing that the people of South Korea could have ended up like that, gave me a new view on the war. From their perspective, at least, the war was worthwhile. It saved their country and gave them a better life, with freedom and prosperity.

I can’t help comparing it to the tragic situation in Ukraine 🇺🇦, still going on as I write this. Russia invaded their neighboring country and is threatening its very existence. But the international response this time is more muted than in the days of Korea. The US and other countries have provided support in different ways, but nobody is committing to boots on the ground. The Ukrainians have put up a valiant fight for years, but how long can they last? 😰

20 years from now, there will probably be a war memorial statue in the center of Kyiv. But which side will it portray as the heroes – successful Ukrainian defenders or Russian soldiers who overran them? The winners write the history. 📝

Where – War Memorial of Korea, Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷
GPS – 37.53716, 126.97712